Government Signs MoU to Promote Investments in Caymanas Economic Zone

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), aimed at getting investors for the development of the proposed Caymanas Economic Zone, was signed Tuesday (August 25) between the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and Inter Continental Capital Worldwide Limited, a company based in Hong Kong.
Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Hon. Karl Samuda, explained that the Ministry had been negotiating with the company, after it expressed keen interest in getting the level of investments needed for the project.
“That has culminated in the preparation of a MOU between Inter Continental Capital Worldwide Limited, which would span a period of nine months,” Mr. Samuda noted during the press briefing which followed the signing at the Ministry, New Kingston.
He said that Inter Continental will be report to the Ministry every three months, providing a report on what progress has been made in bringing together investors and the estimated time within which construction could commence.
The Caymanas Economic Zone, located in St. Catherine, is anticipated to cost US$2.5 billion and is expected to lead to the employment of over 30,000 people. The project entails the build-out of units that will service the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the services industry, and provide warehousing and light manufacturing facilities.
The Minister said that there are also plans to create a facility for Chinese manufacturers to showcase their products here, so that purchasers would not have to travel to China to see what it has to offer.
He said that there are plans to encourage Chinese investors to establish light manufacturing, or sections of their businesses that can be handled within the zone.
Integral to all of this, will be the development of the Port of Kingston and its link to the Zone, he said.